To Endure
by Bella Ragazza
Summary: New will is born under the Fayth filled skies of Zanarkand...Wakka/Lulu.


1 To Endure  
  
FFX Fanfiction by Bella Ragazza  
  
New will is born under the Fayth filled skies of Zanarkand  
  
  
  
A/N: Wakka/Lulu pairing. I'm convinced they should be together, there's definitely something there, a closeness if you watch certain scenes carefully. I'm attempting to expand on that... Well enough of my talk...read, review! Comments are always welcome.  
  
  
  
  
  
Wakka stoked the dying ashes of the fire, cursing quietly when a stubborn spark leapt to bite his fingertips. Grunting his annoyance, he watched the others slumber peacefully under the Fayth filled skies. He had just begun to get the flames going again when he heard the unmistakable sound of tinkling bells. A wind chime melody, waft of roses and he confirmed his suspicion.  
  
"Think I can't see ya, Lu? I got eyes in the back of my head, ya know?" Wakka looked her over, noticing in the harsh moonlight the whiter complexion and dark circles that marred the faultless features she bore. It seemed the farther they traveled on their arduous pilgrimage, the more lackluster she became, sinking into a depressed stupor. Silent though, and ever pressing forward. Never would she falter, he knew. Lulu bled, cried, and felt just like they all did, like everybody did. To posess these traits was convincingly and utterly human. Yet she would never show her pain, the eyes would grow a little harder, the jaw tighten. Self contained and level headed, any doubts and fears were trapped inside a heavy heart.  
  
"Our summoner is finally asleep." Fiddling with an ornate hairpin, her onyx eyes tiredly swept over the prone form of the sleeping Yuna. "Kimahri volunteered to stay on..." The large beast hovered over the slumbering summoner, alternating his piercing gaze between her and the ebon horizon. Spear ever at the ready, not one of them could ever doubt his unwavering devotion to the young lady who slept at his feet.  
  
"Don't that Ronso sleep?" Wakka asked, shaking his head. "Yuna be fine, ya? Just us and the Fayth out here anyway." He sighed and settled on the worn bedroll, pillowing brawny arms under his head for support. Carefully, as to not ruin her skirts, Lulu settled awkwardly beside him, wincing as a sharp rock found its mark. In silence they watched the Zanarkand twilight deepen into blacker hues over the crackling of the pleasant fire.  
  
"Even the stars don look the same as Besaid." Wakka settled into the bedding, brown eyes watching the stars glisten, countless Fayth flitting trails of green and blue their skyway companions.  
  
"This isn't Besaid." Lulu snapped, chagrined as her partner's face tightened and fell silent. She sighed, patting his leg as one would a small child. "Homesick, Wakka?"  
  
He blinked...it sounded sincere. Maybe she was mocking him; it wouldn't be the first time. Lulu Tsaret, cold and stoic, proud and stubborn... and damned beautiful. Together they had grown up on Besaid, while he thrived on the blazing island sun and Blitzball, she stayed indoors or studied dutifully with the temple's monks to hone her magic. If it hadn't been for their caring for the young Yuna, their paths would never had crossed. The thought was inconceivable to his mind- it had always been him and Lu. She steering him toward the more sensible side of things when his jesting persona got out of hand, he the only one to make her thin lips curve into a rare and beatific half smile with some lewd joke or crazy antic. They balanced each other out, which spring boarded an interesting friendship.  
  
Lulu's face refocused to his eyes and she sighed, braids tinkling to and fro as she shook her head. "I'm mothering again, aren't I?" She removed the hand promptly, looking at it in disdain. The ruins of the once mighty Zanarkand lie around and under them, a civilization now buried in its thousand-year grave. "My last pilgrimage...pardon my words but I wish it was over...go home...start to live a real life." Her black eyes glimmered under the conflicting lights of the moon and fire. "Too much pain, too much sorrow..." A glance at Yuna, who slept with a peaceful smile on her pixie visage. "...Too many goodbyes."  
  
"Normal life, ya?!" You think living with Sin is a normal life, Lu? Living in fear, watching over your shoulder every day?" Wakka fumed, pitching dry kindling into the fire, which blossomed to life along with his rage.  
  
"Better to have the Calm than nothing at all, Wakka. I too, wish for the people of Spira's complete atonement, and the demise of Sin. I lived a life of following Yevon's word without fault and question." She looked away quickly, into the roaring flame and charred ash. "That life is no more. Spira's religion is as corrupt and twisted as the black hearts that guarded it. Yuna will give her life, and peace will come to us once more."  
  
"No, Lu!" Wakka cried, slamming a fist into dust and rubble. "We're taking Sin down, ya! I know it!"  
  
"You sound like Tidus." Lulu murmured loftily, watching the tousled blonde doze off against a large boulder. Certainly not love at first sight for them both, but she eventually succumbed to his everlasting cheer and uplifting optimism. To hear him speak one would think he was set to vanquish their foes with one hand behind his back and it was amusing at the very least, if not totally believable.  
  
Wakka bristled, slamming a large hand into his callused fist. "Tidus has dreams, ya! Brudda keeps us all hopin'...we lose that hope, we lose everyting."  
  
She watched the flames leap and ebb smoking white into the colorful night sky, gracefully highlighting the broad square of his jaw, the russet eyes that radiated defiance. She envied that, the spark, the will to play the eternal optimist.  
  
"I had dreams too, Wakka." She whispered harshly, hands absentmindedly toying with the glass beads wound round her slender neck. "Dreams that died. I'm not a teenager anymore; I've been there and know that the summoner's sacrifice is practically premeditated murder. But there will always be another Yuna, a young hopeful summoner who wishes for the people's happiness. And so they will die, and Sin will return anew." Pausing for breath, she furtively glanced up into Wakka's eyes, which held a fair amount of sadness in their usually lively pools.  
  
Wakka sighed, reaching up to retie the bright bandana around his forehead. "Ah, Lu..." Fumbling for a moment, he finished his task and looked up. She was staring straight up, into a sky of restless souls.  
  
"I've...lost it, haven't I?" She whispered, the wind ruffling the long black bangs over her eye as she gave herself up to the heavens. Her face was drawn with sorrow…Wakka had never seen such grief expressed in her eyes…well, maybe once before. The day the people of Besaid laid to rest Chappu. His Chappu…his brother. Full of spirit and lively dreams, and the dazzling smile that even shattered the ice around Lulu's heart. It had hurt, to see her smile for his brother the way he wished she'd smile for her, but he wished them nothing but the best. That day the coffin was lowered beneath the grassy earth he watched her, the lone tear that trailed silently down her face and to the ground where Chappu lay. It was eerie, that one same tear slowly making its way down her face, prolonging its journey as if conveying the sorrow of a thousand more.  
  
  
  
"Lost what, Lu?" Wakka edged closer in concern. He didn't want to remember the past. He only knew now that she was crying, and if he couldn't prevent it the last time, he would be here in this very moment tenfold.  
  
"The hope...believing in dreams...how can I endure if I only have doubt on my side?" She murmured quietly, lost in her grief and somber musings.  
  
"Lu...don cry, ya? Cmon, What can I do...I'd do anything for you..." Wakka sputtered helplessly, unnerved to watch his pillar of strength crumble down to dust. Lulu always had had advice, the answers, the biting yet truthful commentary.  
  
She turned then, as if seeing him through a rich fog. Onyx eyes glistened crystalline and pale rose lips parted slightly. Wakka was always there in his own way; keeping everyone lighthearted and casting sun on what could be a journey of hopeless despairing thought. To watch him so serious, face etched in concern from every angle...was sanctifying. He looked as if he'd run to the ends of Spira to find her a spark of happiness to alight the fire that would melt away the dark shadows lurking inside her.  
  
"Make me believe again, Wakka..." She turned to meet his eyes in a moment of bravery, fearing what she may find in their dark depths. They shone, bathing her weary face in their unabashed warmth. A timid heat as another hand found her own, and she looked down foolishly as he carefully look it into his own, the contrast of his brown and her ivory intense to the eye. He placed her hand to his cheek, and her nimble fingers made their own small movement, stroking over the rough stubble that felt especially so to her palm's softness.  
  
"Aye...Lu." He sighed and closed his eyes, as if the hand resting upon his face was a lifeline and it was all he could do to draw strength from it. Pressing the delicate fingers to his lips, the other hand awkwardly ran through the hair that framed her face like feathers.  
  
...This is Wakka...what are you doing...  
  
...like a brother...  
  
Her head and flustered heart warred confusedly, as he looked her over with tenderness that cast logic to the brittle Zanarkand wind. It might not make sense later, when people begin to ponder and over analyze previous circumstance to the point where right and wrong is a muddled mess, but under the skies of Zanarkand he was different somehow, his spontaneous confession transforming him into the touch that was making her shiver imperceptibly. Suddenly the arms were enveloping her in an embrace that left her secure and subdued.  
  
"Beautiful Lu..." The rich voice, honeyed with the island lilt, rumbled against the crown of her head. She clasped her hands around the nape of his neck, not understanding any of it. But is it really necessary to question life's more treasured moments? To do so is to lose the ferocity of the emotion, the feeling of traveling down a lazy current with no destination. Sometimes it is okay to just...be, for those are the times when life becomes fresh and new again, a rare spectral rainbow after the proverbial downpour.  
  
She lifted her head to meet his eyes again, eyes full of unanswered questions, which would be talked of another time and place. Now, all she wanted was the vitality and warmth of his soul, to take in and become her own. To find her infinitesimal share of peace in a world drowning in its own sorrow was a chance not to be missed. He leant his cheek beside her own, and instead of minding the roughness she felt the comforting presence, the honest tenderness that was painfully obvious.  
  
Subconsciously her hand sought to rejoin his, feeling deprived of that bodily link of connection. An undecipherable utterance from his lips as they brushed against her own, hovering respectably, waiting for acceptance. She sealed the gap between them, and each took what they wanted from the intoxicating warm wetness, only to realize the truth can be sown from the uncanniest ways. He broke away first, only to rake over her face greedily, lips bruised and parted from their joining. Her lips subconsciously curved upward into a smile as she gingerly stroked his own. Sighing tiredly she curled up against his side, and he held her carefully about her slim waist, casual yet keeping the cocoon of safety intact.  
  
"You're blushing, ya?" Wakka's booming tenor whispered in the darkness, not without a hint of bemusement.  
  
"...Absurd." Lulu whipped her head around self consciously, intent on observing the large rock obscuring her vision. He grinned; the hand snaked around her backside tugging playfully on the long silky braids before settling back once more in its place. She smiled back; half hoping to Yevon the rose color on her cheeks would be at least subdued in the glowing firelight. It was back to their old way of going on, yet not without a new level of their partnership revealed. As the fire burned away to embers and her lifelong companion slept beside her, she summoned the strength to endure, to see their journey through till the their story was complete. She didn't know the ending, but somewhere along the pages, there would be hope.  
  
There would always be hope.  
  
  
  
  
  
Fin. 


End file.
